Let's Talk

What's there to do without a national strategy on testing? On this episode, Ryan talks about why the lack of rapid and effective COVID-19 testing is crippling our ability to move forward as a country in a safe and effective way. 

As the United States continues to face a national reckoning on systemic racism in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, many of the underlying issues that perpetuate these oppressive systems are being reexamined with a fresh lens. It’s extremely important to recognize the people and organizations that have long been in this fight for justice and equal opportunity, and that group includes Lost Boyz Inc, which is committed to positively impacting vulnerable Chicago youth's lives through violence prevention, mentorship and sports engagement. On this episode I am joined  by LaVont’e Stewart, who founded the organization in 2009 after witnessing antisocial behavioral patterns increasingly impacting local youth. You can learn more about the organization on their website: https://www.lostboyzinc.org/

Last month I talked about what it means to have white privilege and why understanding it now is more important than ever. On today's episode, I walk through an important resource to take action and use this privilege as a source for good, ally.wiki. On this website, you will find a litany of ways you can help, many from the comfort of your home. 

Feeling down or lacking a sense of purpose? This pandemic has been hard on many people, but there are actionable steps you can take to try and ease those feelings. In this episode, I walk through three things you can do to start feeling more motivated each day. 

A combination episode between Survivor and politics is right in my wheelhouse, and that's what you'll get on today's episode of Let's Talk. The central question on today's show: What similarities are there between the greatest supervillain in Survivor history and the President of the United States? This episode also features my DJT impression, as well as my patent-pending Hantz-to-Trump speech translator. 

As the pandemic rages on, the efficacy of various sports return plans has varied wildly. In this episode, I talk with the hosts of "Beyond the Gameplan," Andrew Golden and Kenny Carter, about the "hope and pray" plan from the MLB and the "bubble" plan from the NBA. We also discuss the social justice movements that have been taking place across a variety of leagues. 

Over the past two days, I've spent time volunteering with Digs with Dignity, a nonprofit whose mission is to elevate the lives of those transitioning from homelessness by filling their houses with everything that makes a beautiful, dignified home. They recently needed to move all of their donated items from six storage lockers to their new warehouse, and me, my mom and the wonderful Sam Wischnewsky answered the call. This episode features an audio diary of the two day's work as well as an interview with co-founder Kim Hannay. You can find Digs with Dignity's website here to learn more about the cause and to get involved: https://digswithdignity.org/

Last weekend marked the conclusion of the English Premier League, and on Championship Sunday, all 20 teams in the league played at the same time. Ella Brockway, top-notch journalist and noted Manchester United fan, sweated out the games as she waited to see if her team would qualify for the Champions League. We talk about that Sunday and her thoughts on the potential for growth in soccer over the next five years. 

To All The Girls has been the most popular essay on my website, so I decided to do a reading of the first part on Let's Talk! Hopefully this will give you a much-needed boost of energy to start your week. 

As we inch closer and closer to election season in November, efforts to mobilize voters across the country are ramping up. I sat down with two members from Salsa The Vote, a New Jersey-based non-profit organization dedicated to building the political power of the Latinx population, and we talked about their efforts for this November's election, their messaging and why they both joined the organization.